There are several reasons to update your wardrobe. A change in season, gaining weight, or just developing a new personal style. Regardless of the reasoning, when updating your wardrobe, it’s always a good idea to get rid of some things to avoid unnecessary clutter in your closet. Recycling clothes via consignment, reselling, or donating can not only free up space but put a few dollars back in your pocket. How do I decide the best method for recycling clothes I no longer want? Glad you asked!
Consignment
Consigning will definitely get you the most money but there’s a catch. When it comes to consigning, it’s far easier to consign things like luxury brands and affordable higher-end brands. This is where you bring your Gucci, Louboutins, anything that holds its value and will give you a significant return on your pricey investment.
If you aren’t fortunate enough to get away with just buying a size or two up, you know how expensive maternity wear can be. For this reason, it’s another great consignment piece that you can usually get a decent return on. Maternity wear also sells pretty quickly due to the demand and small window for needing it, so you usually won’t need to wait too long for that first check.
Check your city for local consignment stores, if you’re in Charlotte, JT Posh is a pretty good option for high-end items and One Hott Mamma is great for maternity wear, or utilize online options like The RealReal and Tradesy. Poshmark and Thred Up are a good bet for affordable luxury brands like Tory Burch and Kate Spade.
Resale Stores
If I’m hoping to get something back, and I’ve taken really good care of the items, this is the route I take for popular brands that wouldn’t yield a large return sold elsewhere. Think Aeropostale, American Eagle, or the cute items you get at Target when they’re having a designer collaboration. Basically, things I paid a decent amount for but not enough that I’m going to see even a third of what I paid for it.
When opting to resale my clothes, I go to places like Uptown Cheapskate, Plato’s Closet, and more recently, my Poshmark store.
Donating
When it comes to donating, brands like Old Navy, Forever 21, or similar fast fashion brands fall into this category for me. Trendy items like those found at fast fashion stores aren’t going to be sellers because once the trend is gone, there’s really no need for the item any longer, so the odds of the resell store selling it are slim to none. While I don’t quite think Old Navy falls into the “fast fashion” category, they do have a tendency to have super cute clothes that frequently go on sale shortly after being placed on the floor, so it’s hard to see a real return on that type of item. Things like that I take to Goodwill or local thrift stores.
A great exception to donating and reselling comes when you’re looking to give back rather than see some type of return on your purchase. Check with your local Dress For Success if you have any great condition suits you no longer need. Another place to take workwear, that you probably never thought of, is your local children’s library. I recently discovered Charlotte’s children’s library, ImaginOn, has a clothing closet that teens can borrow from when going to job and college interviews. This can mean a lot for someone in search of a job that doesn’t quite have the funds to buy an interview worthy outfit that will leave a good impression.
How often do you clean out your clothes and where do you usually take them? What are some other ideas for recycling clothes?
